GETPlugged: Detroit Lions Hire Jim Caldwell As Head Coach

The Detroit Lions have hired Jim Caldwell as head coach, ending a two-week search during which they interviewed only four candidates.

The 58-year-old Caldwell fit a lot of the criteria Detroit had during its search. The Lions wanted someone with head-coaching experience and experience on offense, apparently preferably with quarterbacks.

“On behalf on my entire family, I want to express how thrilled we are with the appointment of Jim Caldwell as our new head coach,” Lions owner and chairman William Clay Ford said. “We believe Jim is the right man to lead our team and deliver a championship to our fans.”

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Caldwell became the second minority candidate to land a head-coaching job this month, joining new Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith.

“To be openly frank, we felt that he should be the guy,” Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation chairman John Wooten said Tuesday afternoon. “We really wanted him in that particular team. Thought it was an excellent fit.”

Caldwell was the first person to interview for the Detroit job, followed by former Texans coach Gary Kubiak, former Titans coach Mike Munchak and former Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.

Detroit was spurned by Whisenhunt, thought to be the top choice, on Monday when he chose the Titans job.